Bro, I'm not an Undead!

A great vessel made of lustreless, unfathomably deep darkness pushed through the ebony ocean like a shard of the night, following behind those that had left its passengers behind.

It was quite large, its size comparable to the vessels given by the Emissary, but its design quite different.

It had no mast or sail, and neither did it have dozens of strange creatures attached to its keel that enhanced the ship's movement. It also lacked the umbrella-shaped golden barrier which shielded the deck of the ship.

It did, however, have great spikes protruding from its back, which fired great orange-pink flames that propelled the ship forward at a decent speed.

It was Grand Flame, an element Replicus had in his repertoire whether in flesh or in bone.

The deck was pitch black, and at its rear end, there was a large trapdoor with golden white steps leading into the bright space below. It was only from an aerial view that the glinting glow of the elegant space under the deck could be seen.

"Boss... Are you sure you can handle this for long?" Grim asked while hammering his foot onto the deck to confirm that it wouldn't collapse.

It wouldn't.

Unlike the deck of the ship lost to Actuass, this one had several large, comfortable chairs, rather, they looked like thick, cushions of darkness that one could just sink into blissfully.

Replicus, in his Hybrid Luman form was seated casually on one of these while looking blankly ahead.

"Yes. I'm sure," he replied.

Grim marvelled.

Because of the tense situation from before – when they had had to keep a lookout for powerful monsters – he was hesitant to sit on the seats Replicus provided and simply relax.

Allora was the same, and Pherdanta preferred to stand beside the Hybrid Luman.

"What about the ocean? It's poisonous, and it eats away anything that isn't guarded. How long can you maintain this thing under such circumstances?" Allora asked nervously.

Replicus shook his head.

"My [Evil Darkness] can't be destroyed. Only dispersed. If I keep my control of it steady, it will hold," he explained.

Speaking of this reminded him of his battle with Kenno back in the day, when the Priest from the Temple in Genhuis had sent him to Evic for 'volunteer work'. It was then, when fighting against Kenno and his armour which disintegrated his targets to dust, that he mastered using [Evil Darkness] to protect himself.

Ah, it seemed like so long ago.

And to some degree, it really was far into the past.

An indicator of this was the fact that Replicus' affinity for [Evil Darkness] and [Just Light], had risen.

Back when he split from Replicus, he was charged with increasing his affinity for these Insurgent Magnus elements. He had done just that spectacularly.

~~~

---

[<Affinities>]

Evil Darkness – A

Just Light – B

...

~~~

A lot of work had gone into [Evil Darkness] in particular. Replicus used his spare time – however little – to spam all his darkness skills. To finally reach the A grade affinity from B, was more pleasing to him than his attainments in Just Light – from D to B.

That said, unlike when Replicus first reached the B grade in [Evil Darkness], there was no special guidance field notification, which was strange.

(A/N: Refer to Ch.207)

Still, it was quite the achievement since controlling the darkness now was as simple as saying "Sockethole". Furthermore, he could see through the darkness he manifested, and make it as sturdy as Legendary grade armour or above if he wished. It was all standard growth.

What he had to look forward to most in light of this development, was acquiring some of Fulgardt's powerful trinkets.

The PHANTASMIC RETAINERS.

...And the weapon Fulgardt used back then, which by now, Replicus knew was locked in that chest he had recovered from the Labyrinth of the Yoke. The one he hadn't been able to open.

(Refer to Ch.94 & 426).

Ah. Sweet prospects.

"Sit down, will you? I made these seats for you. You don't need to steer the ship or keep watching for enemies anymore," Replicus said to his subordinates.

Hesitantly, they all sat down, except for Pherdanta and Araeyn who was back to sitting on the outstretched bowsprit.

The looks on the Unlimited's faces were quite funny. It had been a very long time since they had seen Replicus in his flesh form.

Baddan's face looked even more hilarious. He couldn't quite grasp that he was looking at the same being. Not only was the change in appearance jarring, there was a vast difference in the presence and power.

Also... this man really did look like...

Of course, that was understandable, since Replicus never did anything in his Hybrid Luman form other than practice with [Evil Darkness] and [Just Light]. Aside from these two aspects, nothing else about this form had grown.

"First, I suppose I should explain what happened with the necromancer and the Paladin Champion," Replicus said and he swirled his tongue around his teeth.

"I don't know all the details, but I think that man transferred his soul into the body of the Paladin Champion during or after their battle. What you saw, Grim, when you thought he was unwell, was correct. It was his body we've been trying to tend to all along, not the Champion's. I knew it was weak, and frail, but I was wrong about the reason. It wasn't the Undeath that was weakening it. The Undeath was sustaining it – burrowed deep within the flesh. It belonged there, which was why it was so hard for me to 'cure' him."

Grim wore a strained face.

"But boss... when could he have done that? Transferred his soul, I mean. I know what I saw. The two were fighting bitterly till the very end and the Paladin Champion had an edge for a while," he said. "How did that end with the masked man switching souls and switching what they wore too?"

Replicus remained silent for a while and then spoke.

"When you told us what you saw before, you said you were watching from a distance, and you couldn't tell how the masked man won because the two were moving too fast, didn't you?"

Grim wrestled with reason.

"Well, yes..." he said. "And I guess the Paladin Champion had his helmet on until... until I saw him get thrown into the water by the masked man. That was after he whispered something in his ear. Are you saying the masked man said something to an empty body? Or did he switch the soul of the Paladin Champion into his body after switching attire?"

All these questions cracked Grim's mind as he spewed them.

"No. You weren't there to see it, but the Paladin Champion was the one wearing the necromancer's mask. I believe he was in the wrecked ship we saw earlier. He looked dazed. Not dead. He must be alive. I believe he's still in his body. The masked man must only be able to fully control one body at a time, and thrall the other if necessary," Replicus said. "But why he didn't just take his own body along instead of dumping into the ocean back then..."

"It is a bit weird," Allora chimed in, and then looked to Grim. "You said he whispered something to the body he dumped into the ocean... his body?"

"I have no idea what that was about," Grim said while flinging his hands into the air.

Replicus, on the other hand...

"The Definer of Causality..." he mumbled.

That must be it.

He was speaking to the Definer of Causality!

"What?" Grim asked for clarification, but Replicus didn't give it.

Instead, with a heavy frown, he said:

"This man considered even the most absurd of details..."

Could the masked man have possibly used the Definer to Causality, or conferred with it, to gain a straight path toward solving one of the problems he couldn't have known he would even face.

Lack of a proper vessel.

That would explain the Definer's warning to some degree.

Was it some kind of impartial entity though?

Who knew?

'Was there another significance to keeping the Paladin Champion's body in addition to his own, which was failing for someone reason?' Replicus thought.

The image of the world breaking apart flashed in his head.

The timing...

This all seemed connected, but it was too complex for him to grasp so easily.